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I was re-reading one of my first ever BBQ books , Big Time BBQ by Ray Lampe (2005). He mentioned in one part of the book that many teams cook only the flat for competitions.

Is this still true today? It seems that burnt ends are almost ubiquitous from what I gather. My competition experience is pretty limited, having only competed 4 or 5 times as a BY guy or non KCBS sanctioned events so I may be completely off, but I also know things change in the BBQ world over ~8 years.

A lot of it depends on the available meat supply in your area. If I can find a really large, thick flat, I will cook that. It just depends on a whole host of variables. But many people will separate a whole packer before cooking, so essentially, you are cooking a flat. One thing I have learned is there is basically no wrong way, and I have seen winning teams do it all differently. Find what works for you.

I usually cook packers for comps. This past comp when I went to look for briskets I found a nice packer and a 9.65 lb thick flat. I bought both and cooked both in the comp...I ended up just turning in the flat I bought - took 10th out of 70!

lets not call them burnt ends anymore! burnt ends are the BURNT ENDS of the flat. competition burnt ends are, and should be called carmelized deckle cubes. that is what they are! i think they are the thighs of the brisket catagory. if you turned in real burnt ends i wonder what the result would be.

Would do better with CBJs vs rookie judges that might not know what it is.

I think most cook packers now. Since Dr. BBQ is also a Brethren maybe he will answer.

with this i was referring to the tenderness issue. if bark ain't tender and is sometimes scored down, burnt crispy ends surely ain't tender and would probably fair just as well even though they are authentic to bbq.

lets not call them burnt ends anymore! burnt ends are the BURNT ENDS of the flat. competition burnt ends are, and should be called carmelized deckle cubes. that is what they are! i think they are the thighs of the brisket catagory. if you turned in real burnt ends i wonder what the result would be.

I've been a convert to the high heat, flat only camp over the last 2 years. I was somewhat skeptical at first, but our results have been amazing. In 4 comps out here we've managed 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st. Doubt I'll be going back to whole packers any time soon.